I did a check on some online circuit pages and comprised some basic or more "commonly used" parts:
caps electrolytic:
100uf, 10uf, 4.7uf, 2.2uf, 1uf, 47uf, 3.3uf, 220uf, (different v's)
in my opinion, buying electrolytic kits sucks mainly because of the small variety, low quality, and sometimes they are salvaged (although they may say otherwise).
caps film/ceramic:
get a kit, there are far too many values
resistors:
1/4w are most common, buy kit
ic's:
555 timer, 556 dual timer, 386 op amp, 741 op amp, 324 quad op amp (common types)
diodes:
1n4148, 1n4001-4007, zeners, 1n914
transistors:
2N3904, 2n3906, 2n2222,
misc semis:
volt regulators (lm78xx positive regs, lm79xx negative regs, lm337 neg adjustable, lm317 positive adjustable), power transistors (tip31,41,42 etc)
leds, heatsinks TO220 case, switches dpdt/spst/spdt/etc, pots, var caps, etc
this is just a rough list i put up, open to criticism and additions/removals.
ivan c.
ps. might i recommed looking on ebay for lots of surplus and kits. Ive bought thousands of things off there.